Existentialism in The Stranger (The Outsider) :: Camus Stranger Essays

Existentialism in The Stranger           Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes a few main points, such as the freedom to choose and the choices you gather in should be made without the assistance of another person or standard.  From the existential philosopher point of view you must accept the risk and responsibility of your choices and cost the commitment to wherever it leads.  Someone that is put in a special(prenominal) situation understands it far more than someone looking in on that same situation, one commonly used situation that appears often in existentialist writing is that of death.  The existentialist should learn to accept death when the metre has to come and should k at one time that the most important questions in life argon not accessible to reason or science.  Acting on your hold experiences is essential in arriving at the truth and man is condemned to be free. (Sartre)       &n bsp on that point were two personas in The Stranger that helped me better understand existential philosophy the most.  One part of the novel that helped me to understand existentialism better was when Meursault nip the Arab on the beach and how he handled the situation afterwards.  The Arab had drawn his knife and held it up to Meursault, unless this wasnt what bothered him, it was the light from the sun that sweep off the Arabs knife, and the smart heat along with the salt from his sweat in his eyes that was bothering him. Meursault shot the Arab mainly because he was uncomfortable and not because he felt threatened, but in any case he made the decision to bear down him.  In the next chapter Meursault cant understand why he would need an attorney for his case because its simple to him, he had murdered a man and was now ready to pay the consequences.  He had made a choice that strength not have been the right one but he accept it and was ready to go through with his decision to wherever it would lead.         The other part in The Stranger that helped me to understand existentialism better was at the difference of the novel when Meursault is sentenced to death.  I dont think Meursault was an existentialist but I do think that he faced death the way an existentialist would have.